Vancouver Five Pin Bowling

Many visitors are probably unfamiliar with five pin bowling, a sport invented in Canada at the beginning of the 20th century in Toronto. It is still popular throughout Canada but has never taken off in any other part of the world.

Five pin bowling alleys look a lot like ten pin alleys; the difference is that the alleys are narrower and the five pins (not ten) are smaller. The balls used are small enough to fit in your hand, and have no finger holes.

The game is well suited to kids because the balls, without holes, are smaller, you get three balls per frame instead of two, and you’ll often find gutter guards, long inflated tubes that fill up the gutters and prevent wayward balls from straying.

And if you want to do something truly historic, bowl at Commodore Lanes. Opened in 1930, it was Canada’s first bowling alley and it’s been operating ever since.